Bottled Regrets
by changed currents
Summary: [FusedShipping, apocalypse AU] She'd abandoned her only human friend all those months ago, but by the time she realized the pain he was hiding inside, it was already far too late.


**Hey, guys! I'm sorry I didn't update Disturbance in a while, but I had to get this done.**

 **CorinnetheAnime: I know I said I was going to use that song I told you, but at the last second, I found this one, and the final lyric was so FITTING for this oneshot!  
**

 **So we basically have the entire "apocalypse from Ray's perspective" thing. It's not going to be what happened in _Perspectives,_ or _Impossible Visions._ 100% original!**

 **The song, once again, is a Vocaloid song called "Regret Message" (** **リグレットメッセージ).**

 **Enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _In a town by a port looking out onto the sea,  
_

 _Alone on the sand stands a girl crying._

 _A custom persists,_

 _that today it still exists._

 _Traditions from long long ago,_

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

* * *

As Zarc's first tournament ends with him as the overall champion, I can't control my glee as I meet him in the locker room. "Zarc! You did it! Oh my gosh, you did it!"

He laughs and picks me up, spinning me in a circle before setting me lightly back on my feet. My hair is tangled from the wild spin, but I could care less. "This is partly your celebration too, Ray! You helped me do all of this, you should deserve some of the glory!"

I stifle a giggle and wrap my arms around him in a hug, burying my fingers into the warm, sweaty fabric of his jacket while pointedly ignoring the sweaty bits. He rests his chin on top of my forehead and sighs contently. "But you did all the hard work, Zarc. I just trained you."

Zarc shakes his head with a small smile on his face and gently pulls out of the hug, setting his duel disk down on the bench of the locker room and sliding his deck from the device. He takes a black deck box from his belt and pours the cards into it, clipping it shut after the edges line up neatly.

Smiling, I tousle his hair with a hand just as the door slams opens with a loud bang. Zarc is startled, nearly dropping his deck box as my father sweeps into the room with his usual disinterested posture. His lab coat billows behind him, and his face is void of expression. The bright locker room lights reflect a shine on his polished-like bald head. "Ray. Let's go."

"But, Dad, I want to stay with Zarc! He just won his first tournament, let me celebrate with him!" I protest, but my pleas fall on deaf ears.

"No, Ray. We are leaving. Right now," he snaps angrily, gesturing to the door with his arm. He's always disapproved of my being with Zarc, and us getting older has set him off even more.

Hands gently push me forward from behind. Startled, I turn to find Zarc, his golden eyes filled with slight regret. His bangs, streaked with green, brush softly against my face as he pushes me.

"Go" he says, quitely. "It's fine. I'll see you later, okay?"

Without thinking about my actions, I grab his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his. His cheeks immediately burn a brilliant red, and there's an indignant outburst of my name from my father behind me.

I break the kiss as quickly as I start it, and his golden eyes meet mine, cheeks still flushed.

"I'll see you _tomorrow,_ Zarc," I send him a sweet smile, turn to my father, and brush past him out the door without even meeting his horrified grey eyes.

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _"Write down a wish on a piece of parchment,_

 _Then place it in a bottle."_

 _If you let it flow,_

 _then someday it will grow,_

 _and your heart's desire will be real._

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

* * *

We go to the card shop today, a lively little establishment run by an elderly man with crazy gray hair. He's a nice man, and upon entering the shop, notices our duel disks and immediately gestures to the racks of Duel Monster cards with a smile on his face. There's a very open environment about the place, and I immediately tell myself to come here and get cards from now on.

As soon as the kind man turns his back, Zarc lets me loose, allowing me to pick whatever packs I want. At first, I'm hesitant, but Zarc opens his wallet and shows me his winnings from the last tournament, pushing me towards the rack of packs with a firm hand. His wealth, I realize, means nothing to him if he can't make me happy.

My heart sings as he smiles and tosses me a foil pack, the picture on front depicting a monster I've been looking for for a while. "Go on, Ray, pick some out. Don't worry about the cost."

The elderly man is so kind, he throws in a free pack of cards for Zarc and lowers the price by a fourth of the original, and we walk out the shop satisfied with a big plastic bag filled with foil packs. Overjoyed, I throw my arms around Zarc and hug him tight.

"Thank you so much," I breathe in his scent as his arms fold around my own waist.

"You're welcome," he whispers back, his breath tickling my ear.

"Aww, look at those sweethearts," a passing elderly couple cooes nearby. The old woman of the couple presses a hand to her chest and leans into her husband. "Remember when we had those raging hormones, too?"

Blushing furiously, I pull away from Zarc as he takes my hand, a light pink dusting his own cheeks. "C'mon, Ray. I'll treat you to some ramen and ramune over at the mall, okay?"

Smiling, I give him a kiss on the cheek, the fifth time this afternoon, and take his offer. "Let's go, then!"

By the time he drops me off at home, I can still taste the faintest, sweet tinge of ramune on my lips, along with the feeling of overwhelming contentment dancing around my stomach.

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _Flow along, glass bottle, and please don't take too long,  
_

 _'Cause what I want the most is in that message,_

 _And on the other side of this sunset,_

 _right there, my wish will disappear._

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

* * *

"Odd-Eyes, attack! Take out Ignition Beast Volcannon!"

Zarc's dragon fires that beautiful stream of fiery red fire at the monster, the beast exploding into shining pixels of golden light. But Odd-Eyes's attack goes further than the monster and slams into the shoulder of Zarc's opponent.

Blood spurts from the wound, surprise registering on the man's face, as well as fear. His hand goes to wrap around the deep cut, pain clear in his eyes as his duel disk deactivates and the paramedics take him away for bandages. Seemingly satisfied, Odd-Eyes lets out a defiant roar before the Solid Vision System shuts down and he disappears.

But the roar is not just of defiance. I can _feel_ the anger Odd-Eyes is releasing, the _fury_ and _annoyance_ directed at the humans that force him to fight against his brethren. I'm the not the only one who notices, however, and Zarc's expression says it all.

He's is clearly unsure of what to do, and he stands shell-shocked in the center of the field. But before he can utter a word, the crowd explodes into raucous cheers, some even stomping their feet as they chant his name over and over again.

Slowly, I rise from my seat. The people around me are sending me odd looks, but their hands never cease their clapping as Zarc waves twice to the crowd and disappears into the stadium's underbelly, where his locker room lies.

I dash after him, hurridely flashing my ID tag at the security before knocking on the closed door. "Zarc?"

He doesn't answer, but I can hear his feet shuffling around the interior of the room, presumably collecting his things.

"Zarc," I call again, slightly concerned. I try the doorknob with a firm hand, but it's locked and won't budge. He knows it's me, why isn't he responding? "It's Ray. Let me in."

"I'm sorry," his voice answers. There's an undertone to it that I can't identify. "I can't."

"Why? Zarc, you're acting weird," I pound on the door. "Let me in!"

"I'm talking to Odd-Eyes," is his cryptic answer. Of course, he's talking to his dragons. It's the one thing that differentiates him from the rest of humanity. His ability, and mine too, to talk to Duel Spirits. I can hear the faintest sounds of muttering coming down the stairs, possibly the officials coming to speak with him, and i pound even harder.

"Zarc! People are coming, let me in!"

The annoying door doesn't move, nor is there the telltale click of a lock. "Please, just go. I'll see you on Wednesday."

"Zarc-"

"Please," he begs, and there's a weak hint of anger in his voice now. "Just _go._ "

Defeated, I peel my hand off the door and walk away, the skip in my step from before all but gone. I pass the people coming down the stairs, paramedics coming to check on my best friend after the duel, but I know they won't touch him.

Besides, if Zarc won't let his only human friend in the room, why would he allow complete strangers in?

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _You would always do everything I asked you to.  
_

 _Really, any request of mine, yet I still_

 _was a spoilt selfish brat and I really regret that._

 _I always caused problems for you,_

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

* * *

Today's duel ends in another bloody mess, the opponent's leg bent in an odd angle as the paramedics load him in a stretcher and whisk him away. Blood leaks from a cut on his forehead, and he's definitely received a concussion. His monster has been vaporized by Clear Wing's attack, the proud, beautiful dragon howling to the sky before vanishing.

I feel sick to my stomach. There hasn't been one of Zarc's duels in months where his opponent hasn't gotten injured. The luckiest escaped with only a sprained ankle and a few cuts on his arms. The least fortunate is still in a coma.

Pulling my arm out of my father's iron grasp, I run through the aisles of seats and down the stairs, ignoring the guards' startled yelps as I dash past them. I haven't been down here in months, but the path through the winding halls is ingrained permanently into my head.

Zarc's locker room's door is unlocked, and I barge right in without preamble. He's not startled easily anymore, and merely glances over his shoulder at my entrance. Golden eyes widen at the sight of me, and he puts the folder in his hands down on the bench.

"Ray," he says in a surprised voice, turning fully around and taking a few steps towards me. But when he tries to hug me, I bat his arms away.

Zarc throws me a look of hurt, and my heart stings at the sight of it. But I let the words I've cooped up so long fall from my mouth. "Zarc, please. You've got to stop this."

"Stop what?" Zarc asks, a confused expression on his face. It's obviously fake: he knows what I'm talking about. "I'm not doing anything wrong."

"Yes, you are!" I cry, throwing an arm out. "You've been hurting every oppponent you've played in the last few months critically! You left this one today with a broken leg and a concussion! Don't you think you're going too far?"

Zarc's eyes lower to his deck, and he picks the top card from it. It's Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, the holographic card shining even in the dim lighting of the locker room. He holds it up, and I can hear a forlorn, miserable roar echoing faintly.

"The crowd loves it," he says quietly. "Isn't that what you introduced to me? _Duels with smiles?_ That's what I'm doing, what I'm giving to the audience, and they love it! If I don't play like I do now, I'll just get shunned aside again, because I'm not interesting _at all_!"

The last part of his sentence comes out in a yell, and it takes me aback. "W-what? Interesting? You're plently interesting, Zarc!"

"To _you,_ " Zarc stalks back to his bag on the wooden bench and roughly jerks the zipper closed. "If I don't give humanity what they want, I'll be that worthless piece of trash no one will ever notice again."

His words are harsh, but I realize it's true. Zarc has lived alone, from what I've gathered, all his life. Finally getting noticed by the population means so much to him, more than it'll ever mean to me.

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _The you who granted me every single wish,  
_

 _are no longer here by me._

 _On this blue sea, will all my feelings,_

 _arrive to where you are?_

 _.._

 _.._

..

* * *

Zarc duels again today, against anyone who dares to challenge him. Some duels are just kids who want to play him, and he goes easy on them, allowing them to see his dragons before defeating them in a blast of beautiful light. Others are pros that he's defeated before and wants another try, and those he destroy once again with that awful predatory sneer.

I sit through all of them, watching for hours. The ones with the kids in the Junior and Youth Leagues, the league Zarc should technically be in, are heartwarming to see as he calls encouragement to the younger duelists. But the pro duels hurt to see, as he destroys them with almost no mercy. There's such a drastic difference that I can't believe that Zarc has so many facades.

My father calls about halfway through the duel show, asking if I'm alright. In the smoothest voice I can muster, I reply that I'm fine, and the duels are very entertaining. I'm lying and my dad knows it, but he doesn't say anything and instead reiterates the facts that he loves me, and to be careful, before hanging up.

Yesterday, I defeated the final opponent that was in the semifinal pool for a small, non-official tournament, and now, I'm up against Zarc for the last duel of the day. He acknowledges my presence with a cursory nod of his head and nothing more.

My heart stings at the sight, but my arm moves to activate my own disk, and I have no choice but to follow along.

Zarc plays hard, bringing out Dark Rebellion and Clear Wing to block my monster's effect and deal impressive damage with the Xyz dragon's boosted attack. I barely hold him off with a few counter traps, and it's my turn again.

No matter how hard I try, Zarc's dragons always overwhelm my monsters, and the duel inevitably ends in my defeat, sprawled on the ground. My eyes meet Zarc's golden ones, and for the slightest of moments, I see a hint of regret in them. My heart leaps at the sight, but he turns his back on me and instead walks back into the depths of the stadium's underground.

Blinking back tears, I pull myself off the unforgiving stadium floor and make my way back to my own locker room.

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _Flow along, little wish, and please don't take too long,  
_

 _To take away my tears and all my regret,_

 _It was too late by then, to fix my sins,_

 _When they'd taken you far from me._

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

* * *

I'm there the day Zarc releases his dragons' pent-up anger on humanity, the stadium collapsing around us as my father rushes me out of the crumbling structure. Quickly, I steal a glance back and find Zarc, still standing in the middle of the stadium with his dragons rapidly fire beams of destruction around him. His golden eyes are piercing in the gloom, and just before my father forces me to turn around, they meet mine.

Tears drip from my eyes as his face twists into a sneer, turning his back on me _again_ as the stone supports of the stadium collapse and block my vision. My father roughly shoves me from the tunnel and into the open air, swarming with dust from the dragons' pulverization of the stadium. We dodge the tanks advancing towards the collapsing structure and head back to Father's lab, looking back just in time to see Odd-Eyes take out the weapons with a single blast.

Industrial weapons won't work against Solid Vision, I realize. As long as the cards remain on Zarc's Duel Disk, the military will never be able to stop him.

For several days, Zarc continues his pulverization on the remainder of humanity, using his ever-faithful dragons. Father has to scavenge for the best equipment he can find from the ruins of his lab, and I pass the corpses of too many lugging the machinery to a safer site.

Only a week after the destruction of our home, the remaining survivors hear the roar echoing all over the ruins.

"WE WILL BECOME ONE!"

Horrified, I freeze in my tracks as the sky over the stadium explodes into a myriad of light, Zarc's favorite sorcerer, Astrograph, in the middle of it all. The sorcerer's staff is raised up high, and as I watch, each one of his dragons fly into the light before Zarc himself disappears into the blinding brilliance.

The sky explodes into color, the light almost as blinding as the sun. The monstrosity that descends from it, however, is another spectacle. With a wingspan stretching to impossible lengths, gold and fluorescent green running down an inky black body, and a roar that terrifies the living for miles, Zarc has turned into something else altogether.

But those vibrant yellow eyes are the same.

 **"I AM THE SUPREME DRAGON KING ZARC!"** Is his first declaration, one naming the demon that is the dragon hovering our home. Faintly, I can see his face, melded in with the black scales of the dragon's horrifying combination. Glowing red irises that are now his eyes, and that smirk, turned from endearing to nightmarish, will no doubt haunt the minds of the rest of humanity.

 **"Those of you who are alive, YOU SHOULD FEEL REWARDED!"** he laughs, his voice mocking as it is amplified all over the ruins. **"BECAUSE NOW, YOU GET TO DIE BY MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE!"**

 **"AND-"** he pauses, a tone of superiority entering his already mocking one. **"-IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH FOR YOU..."**

 **"FEEL FREE TO DIE TASTING THE AMOUNT OF MY DRAGONS' COMBINED POWER!"**

His statements are bold, without any hints of fear. Just like the Zarc I used to know.

At the same time, it isn't.

* * *

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _Flow along, glass bottle, and please don't take too long,_

 _'Cause what I want the most is in that message._

 _And on the other side of this sunset,_

 _right there, my wish will disappear._

..

..

..

* * *

On the day my father finishes the four spell cards that will apparently defeat the Supreme Dragon King Zarc, he sits me down for a serious talk among our crumbling home. The four spell cards will defeat the demon, he says, splitting Zarc up into four pieces. The cost of this, however, is that the user of the cards, and potentially our world, will also be split into four separate pieces.

"I have to do it," Father reiterates as he scurries around the lab, dialing down his equipment. The cards lay on the lab table only a few feet away, ready for use. "I created the Solid Vision, I gave birth to this monster. I should be the one to do it."

 _No, you shouldn't,_ I think, my gaze latched onto the cards as my hands dance on my lap. _I'm the one that left him alone, left him to his own darkness. I should be the one to be split alongside him._

When Father's back is turned, I snatch the four cards and sprint out the door, ignoring my father's cries for me to stop as I head for the closest landform to Zarc: a floating island of crystals reflecting light in so many different colors. Along the way, I'm nearly cornered by my father again as he demands for the cards, begging me to spare myself and help repair our "utopia" once both of them are gone.

I ignore him again and instead activate one of the said cards, blocking his route. A little bit of parkour is necessary to reach the floating land, but once I do, Zarc's attention is immediately focused on me.

 **"You finally came,"** he sneers, the enormous dragon swooping down to hover above the crystalline island. **"After all this time, you finally came."**

Zarc's face presses from the dragon's massive body, half-covered in black scales and eyes glowing red like I saw all those weeks ago. Tears finally began to leak from my eyes as I reach an arm out, so entranced by the sight of his transformation.

"Zarc..." I half-sob. "I'm so sorry..."

He laughs, throwing my heart to the ground and stomping on it with a single sound. **"It's too late for apologies, Ray. Maybe you should've thought of that when you tossed me aside like TRASH!"**

"But I-"

 **"'-didn't mean to?'"** he finishes, crimson eyes blazing with cruel amusement as he summons up a duel disk, arms detaching from the dragon's massive bulk. **"Too bad. Today, I'll crush you like THE INSECT YOU ARE!"**

More tears drip and shine on the surface of the crystalline island as I ready my own duel disk, the spell cards shuffled into my deck in preparation for the long fight ahead. I swipe at the salty drops in vain as Zarc begins his first turn.

It takes a while, but with a few draws and what feels like a thousand turns later, I have gathered the four spells in my hand. My Life Points are at a dangerously low level, and Zarc already wields a triumphant smirk on his face, sure of my defeat.

Then I slid the four spell cards onto my disk. Activating in midair, they begin to glow with golden light, streaming towards the Supreme Dragon King with a vigor. Zarc screams as the light touches him, body writhing as his disk deactivates and his monsters disappear. His dragons are torn from their combined body, the monstrosity slowly disappearing amid the bright golden light.

 **"Unforgivable...UNFORGIVABLE! I'LL KILL YOU! _KIISAMA!_ _"_** he howls, screaming as his beloved family, his _favorite_ dragons disappear from his reach. He desperately cries out for them, and for a moment, he's that vulnerable junior high student I met so many years ago once more.

My tears are streaming down nonstop now, refusing to end as I dash forwards and throw my arms around his crouched, now fully visible body. His hands claw at my back, the sharpened claws leaving bloody scrapes through my outfit as he screams and begs and _sobs_ for his dragons. _Howls_ and _threatens_ and _yells_ for them, for me to get _off_ him, to give him his _power_ back.

"Zarc...I'm so sorry...so...so...sorry..." I'm sobbing into his shoulder now, the black scales melting away to his familiar jacket. My back screams in pain as his claws dig into my flesh, but I ignore it all and grab fistfuls of his jacket, fingers sliding where the cloth meets scales.

 _Please..._

The golden light clouds my vision, taking away all the pain and bringing undeniable bliss. I can only see the faintest outline of Zarc's body now, and he drifts away, his form shimmering and splitting into four.

"Zarc...I love you..."

 _...if we were to be reborn..._

* * *

..

..

..

 _Flow along, little wish, and please don't take too long,_

 _To take away my tears and all my regret,_

 _"If we're ever reborn, I hope in my next life..."_

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

* * *

And as the effect of the cards split my own body and soul into four, I let the last, weak smile form on my face before I close my eyes.

... _I hope we can be friends again..._


End file.
